Pulling-over machine.



S. B. HENDERSON. PULLING-OVER MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.23, I914.

Patented. May 28, 1918.

r on the foot.

nnrrnn srarns rnrnna carton SYLVANUS BENJAMIN HENDERSON, OF SANFORD, MAINE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PULLING-OVER MACHINE.

Application filed April 23, 1914.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that=1 SYLVANUS BENJAMIN Hnnnnnsox a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Sanford, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain Improvements in Pulling-Over Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts inthe several figures.

This invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes and; has for its object to contribute to the production of better fitting of uppers to lasts and economy of time of shoe machine operators. When shoes-were made. by hand a workman would jack or spindlehis last-with its sole face'upward and pull theupper with hand pincers, using the fingers of onehand to feel the\smooth ness andposition of the upper on the lowermost side of the last while he manipulated the pincers with the other; hand to stretch and to fasten the upper. Then he would lift the last-fron1 the spindle and turn it over to inspect the shoe, spindling it again to com plete the operation but ripping out some or all ofthe tacksand pullingagain to makeany necessary corrections in the set of the upper-on the last and in thelocation of its principal lines, such as the tip seam and the lacing slit before finally fastening the upper. Such handling of the shoe and undoing and'correction of ill-fitted uppers is of course inconsistent with-machine work and etlicient factory system. In the organization of a practical machine for pulling, over shoes long-years of experimentation in dicated and experience has proven that the best position in which to locate theshoe is with the toe pointing.upwardly toward the operator about onalevel with the operators eyes so that he sees the shoe somewhat as an observer of the wearer does when the shoe is This position of the shoe in=the commercial machine. as shown for example in United States Letters Patent No. 1,029,387,

granted June 11, 1912 on application of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28, 1918.

Serial No. 333,916.

fact, the relation of the machine parts to the shoe largely exclude the light-from the sole face of the shoe so that the operator could distinguish little or nothing if he could get into a position where he could look down upon the shoe bottom. While the condition of the sole face is obviously of relatively minor importance there are some conditions always-present and others occasionally encountered which make it highly desirable that the operator know that parts of the shoe that are hidden from his View are in their right relation beforethe upper is overdrawn and tacked to the innersole. Among these conditions is freedom of the lining and toe stifiening materials from folds which will cause discomfort to the wearer or detract from the appearance of the shoe, and the proper positioning of the innersole. lf welt shoe innersolestock. is limp and the feather thin as is now often the case, or if its edge projects beyond the edge of the last bottom slightly it. is liable to be raised so that it may become folded upwardly and inwardly upon itself in the overlaying and tacking opera tion. Some operators try to ascertain if conditions are right byv feeling with the fingers, but most men take their chances and rip open the shoe and pull it over again if they, think it is so bad that it will not pass the foreman or inspector unnoticed. In Mo Kay shoes the most frequent condition met is that the innersole is not flush withtho edge of the last bottom around the toe McKay innersoles are usually not tacked to the last bottom and so are particularly liable toslide endwise or laterally from correct position and thereby produce an unsymmetrical shoe when the last is withdrawn. Out of my experience as a foreman working under these practical conditions I have devised an improvement to the;com mercial pulling-over machine which will eliminate excuse for an operator to overdraw and tack an upper with the linings folded or the innersole displaced, lifted and donbled back. This I have done by enabling him to see the sole face of the shoe toe practically as well as the hand workman used to do. To accomplish this I have arranged to throw light upon the toe portion of the shoe the shoe and where it also can be looked into 7 by the machine operator at such an angle that he can see the lighted parts, while standing in his usual working position where he can also look at the top face of the shoe. He then has no more excuse for fastening the upper with wrong conditions existing on the sole face of the toe than on the top face of the toe. He can always reach in with his fingers and replace the innersole edge or straighten out a fold in'the lining, opening his machine grippers for the purpose if necessary, and hecan shift a McKay innersole endwise by the sole rest controlling lever or force the last sidewise by a light blow when necessary. I am advised of the disclosure in the York Patent No. 1,090,187,

granted March 17 1914, and recognize that the use of a mirror to reflect a portion of a shoe being lasted is not new. My experiments showed me, however, that satisfactory results in the commercial pulling-over machine represented in said McFeely patent are dependent upon securing certain relations of the mirrors, of which I have found it very much better to use two, to the last positioning and the upper pulling devices so as first to reflect light into the machine and illumine the work. Then the mirrors can show the conditions which the operator needs to know at the corners of the toe portion of the shoe bottom. Another condition is that the mirrors should occupy such a position and stand at such an angle that the operator can see the illuminated portion of the shoe bottomin a pulling-over machine and in certain combination with said positioning and pulling devices of the machine including the innersole shifting means and the gripper manipulating means, are to be recognized the features of this invention for which I claim novelty entitling me to the patent protection afforded by the claims which are annexed to the following description of a pulling-over machine equipped with this invention.

In the accompanying drawings which show the preferred construction and arrangement of the mirror to cooperate with the machine parts to produce the results as suggested Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the head of a pulling-over machine taken from a position a little to the left of that usually occupied by the operator.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the left-hand mirror and the image of the grippers and adjacent parts of the shoe therein as it appears to the operator standing in working relation to the machine. a t

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the right-hand mirror.

Fig.4 is a'perspective view of the back of the mirror frame.

The shoe resting means includes the sole rest 8 which is movable lengthwise by the hand lever 16 and connections and capable of useto adjust a McKay innersole endwise forwardly or backwardly on a last bottom.

7 The pulling over means include the toe gripmovement the toe gripper is guided in a slot 9 and the side grippers in slots 11 in the machine frame 30. The machine is power operated to cause the grippers to seize the upper, stretch it longitudinally and transversely of the last and then come automatically to rest for inspection of the shoe with the upper held under tension. The yielding connections 3, 5 permit the grippers to be moved up or down as may be required to adjust the upper or change its tension, the two side gripper levers 28, 28 being connected together at 26 and, through'shafts 24 I and 32, they can be both moved together by one hand of the operator while his other hand is free for other use, as for example, for moving the toe gripper lever 27, for moving the sole rest lever 16 or for moving the last transversely under a laterally displaced McKay innersole. The toe gripper lever has a finger piece 29 and connections through which the toe gripper can be released from the upper and reengaged with it when necessary for correcting undesirable conditions in the pulled shoe before the upper is fastened. The fastening occurs when the machine is restarted and is effected by incoming t ackers at the toe and sides of the shoe which insert tacks through the upper and into the innersole asis well understood the grippers being automatically released to give place to the tackers;

For securing the results set forth as sought by this invention I have arranged a mirror 6 within the machine but exposed to the light and in a location and at the required angular relation to the shoe held against the sole rest 8 by the action of the grippers to reflect light upon the toe portion of the shoe bottom. The location andangular po sition of the HIlTI'OI'iS also such that the machine operator can see the toe of the shoe bottom in the mirror while he stands in sub menace stantially his usual working position in front of the machine. Of course it would be possible to use one mirror or othermeans exclusively for lighting the work and another. mirror for showing the Work to the operator.

For securing the results sought by this invention a mirror 6 is provided which is so located within the machine and back of or above the shoe that light is reflected upon the forepart of the shoe and the'image-of the toe portion of the shoe bottom is reflected out of the machine to where the opera tor can see it, somewhat as represented in Fig. 2 this being the image seen by the op erator from his usual position when looking into a mirror placed upon the left hand side of the toe gripper. In this figure a McKay shoe is shown and the toe gripper 2 and one of the side grippers 4, the sole rest appearing at 8 the innersole at 10, the last at 12, and an oustanding fold of upper material at 14. It will vbe noted in this figure that the McKay innersole is represented as having slipped backwardly from the end of the last,

and that, therefore, the innersole should be pushed forwardly relatively to the .last by the use of the sole rest lever16. The contact faces or feet of the sole rest being roughened, the friction between them and the innersole is sufficiently greater than that between the innersole and the smooth bottom ofthe last to insure that the innersole will be moved by the movement of the sole rest.

Having positioned the innersole longitudinally, of the. last, and assuming that the innersole is otherwise properly positioned, the operator will trip the machine 'to cause it to complete its cycle and secure the upper in pulled over position. If, however, the operator upon examination of the image of the shoe in the left hand mirror found that the innersole was displaced laterally toward that side of the machine so that the edge of the last was invisible, it would have been impossible for him to tell, from this mirror alone, to what extent the innersole was displaced. Accordingly, another mirror 18 is placed upon the opposite side of the machine: in such a position that the image therein may appear as in Fig. 3. The image in this mire ror shows the operator at once that the, innersole has been displaced toward theleft and. also the extent of the: displacement. The upper at this time being held under strong tension, it is somewhat difficult to move the last relatively to the innersole, although it is possible to move thelast'bya blow, and this method is employed where the machine is unprovided with the. hand lever 20 and connections for relaxing the tension of the sidegrippers. Bytheus'e of-le-- ver 20, however, it is comparatively easy for the operator to slide the last laterally of the machine relatively to the innersole which is heldin positionby, its engagement with the roughened surface of, the sole rest 8.. In some cases, of course, both longitudinal and lateral displacement of the innersole may occur, in which case both the levers 16 and 20 must be operated to correct the position of the innersole.

Each mirror, 6 and 18 is so located that the light it reflects is cast upon the portion of the shoe bottom to be seen in the opposite mirror. Each therefore cooperates with the other by throwing light upon the shoe while each also operates singly to light up the portion of the shoe which is observable in it. It will be obvious from the views shown in Figs. 2 and 3 that these mirrors will readily disclose any fold in the shoe lining or the. toe stifiening materials such as is liable to be found at the end and corners of the toe and which would either cause subsequent discomfort to a wearer of the shoe or would be liable to show through thin upper leather and detract from the appearance of the shoe. It will also be obvious without further illustration how the turned up edge of a welt innersole feather would be disclosed .by the mirrors. The importance to the machine operator of this improvement will be readily recognized by the fact that he is advised, without loss of time or expenditure of effort, of the conditions existing on the bottom of the shoe at the same time that he is making his usual inspection of the upper on the top face of the last and is effecting the necessary adjustments or corrections to prepare the shoe for the overlaying and fastening operations. In this complicated power operated machine something of a problem was presented in locating and'mounting the mirrors where they would answer the. requirements of service and not conflict with any operation or adjustment of the machine parts. This is ac complished by making them of the shape shown, which is broadly an acute triangle with the two outer corners cut off, and securing them. to the lower side of the machine frame 30 in the angles between the guideways 9'and 11 for the toe and side grippers. It was also found that for the best showing of the work the right and leftmirrors, indi# cated as 18 and 6, should be inclined slightly toward each other and toward the median line of. the machine. One advantage of'this is that each mirrors disclosure ismade to overlap that of the other so that in either one the operator can see somewhat past the end of the toe, and another in that the light is reflected upon the part of the shoe which it is desire-d to illuminate. To .obtain this mounting the mirror is embraced by the depending flanges of a two-part casing 36, 38-, whichp'arts have interlocking connections 40, 4:2, 44 and will spring enough to permit assembly and also disengagement when'necesror, in which case it yieldingly holds lip 34 against frame 30, or said member 32 may constitute a permanent connection to the frame 30 while the lnterlocking connections 40, 42, 44, permit the removal of the part 36- and the withdrawal of the mirror for substitution or for cleaning purposes. It will be noted that the mirrors are faced downwardly so that dust and dirt does not readily accumulate on them. The mirrors reflect the light down upon the bottom of the shoe so that a distinct image of the toe portion of the'shoe can be seen in the mirrors which are arranged to reflect this image to the outside of the machine to a point where the operator can see it. Heretofore the frame work of the machine has had a light absorbing surface such that little or no light was turned by it into the machine where it would light 11 the back or sole face of the shoe. I have obtained the described improved practical results in pulling over shoes by substituting for'such light absorbing surface a light reflecting surface in the form of a glass mirror but other suitable light reflecting surfaces on the frame 30 could doubtless be,

used in'the place of the reflecting mirrors which I have employed.

Having described the purpose and nature of this invention and described how it may be used, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a pulling-over machine in which the shoe is arranged with the upper toward the operator, the combination with means for pulling-over the shoe, a sole rest against which the innersole of the shoe is pressed by the tension applied to the upper by the pulling-over means, and means for moving the sole rest longitudinally while the upper is under tension, of a mirror, and means 10- cating the mirror in the machine at one side of the median line of the machine and maintaining it in a position inclined toward the median line to enable the operator to see the toe portion of the innersole while making adjustment of the innersole by use of the sole rest moving means.

2. In a pulling-over machine the combination with means for positioning a shoe with its top face toward the operator, means for-pulling over the shoe, and means for means for pulling-over the shoe, of means arranged to reflect light upon the toe portion of a shoe bottom and additional means to present within theline of vision of the operator standing in working relation to the machine an image of the toe portion of the shoe bottom. 1 p I 4. In a pulling-over machine, the combination with means for positioning the shoe with its top face toward the operator, and

' means for pulling-over the shoe, of two mirrors each of which is arranged to reflect an image of a part of the toe portion of the shoe bottom and each of which is arranged to reflect light upon the work to illuminate the portion of the work that is to be seen in the other mirror.

5. In a'pulling-over machine, the combination with means for positioning the shoe with its top face toward the operator, and means for pulling over the shoe, of means arranged to reflect light upon the toe portion of the shoe bottom and to present within the line of vision of the operator standing in working relation to the machine an image of the toe portion of the shoe bottom.

6. In a pulling-over machine, the combination with shoe resting means arranged to position a shoe with its bottom face away from the operator, and means for operating upon the shoe, of mirror supporting means located within the machine behind the bottom face of the shoe, a two-part mirror casing having interlocking connections and depending mirror retaining flanges, and a mirror held in said flanges, one of said casing SYLVANUS BENJAMIN HENDERSON.

Witnesses: i

EVERETT W. VARNEY,

GEORGE A. GOODWIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 

